1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a folding door apparatus which is made foldable by rotatably connecting the inner facing ends of a pair of door bodies.
The folding door apparatus of this kind is used as a door for opening and closing the front of the storage space in furniture such as a wardrobe and closet.
Conventional folding door apparatuses used on these furniture are known to have a construction as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 254,776/1986.
The conventional folding door apparatus is constructed as shown in FIG. 10. The facing inner ends of paired door bodies b of the folding door a are rotatably connected together. On the upper and lower ends of each door body b are mounted guide hinge bodies d having roller mechanisms movable along guide rails c that are laid on the upper and lower edges of the front opening portion of the furniture, and hinge mechanisms that allow the door bodies b to rotatably support with respect to the roller mechanisms.
One or both of the paired door bodies b of the folding door a that closes the front of the furniture is or are pulled forward and moved toward each other. This causes the roller mechanisms of the upper and lower guide hinge bodies d on one or both of the paired door bodies b to move along the guide rails c, folding the door through the hinge mechanisms of the guide hinge bodies d until the backs of the door bodies b come close together. Thus, the front part of the furniture is opened.
In the above folding door apparatus, the folding door a can be moved along the guide rails c to the left or right side of the furniture with the folding door a opened, i.e., the paired door bodies b folded.
However, when the folding door a in its open condition, i.e., with the paired door bodies b folded, is moved along the guide rails c by pushing the folded end portion of the folding door a, as shown in FIG. 10, the force F applied to the folded end portion produces a compressive force C in the left door body b and a tensile force T in the right door body b. As a result, the guide hinge body d on each door body b becomes inclined relative to the guide rail c as indicated by two-dot lines in the figure, badly deteriorating the running performance of the guide hinge body d along the guide rail c.
Depending on the force F applied, the folding door a intermittently stops and moves along the guide rail in a swinging motion, making the movement of the folded door unsmooth.